Friends With Benefits
by BeTheWorld
Summary: Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy are best mates. But they also have a secret. Do these relationships ever really work out? Albus/Scorpius; Rated M.
1. Sarcastic

**Disclaimer:** All following characters and places not of my own creation belong to JK Rowling.

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_01 — Sarcastic_

Scorpius Malfoy had been Albus Potter's best mate since the day they first met on the school train over five years ago. Al had been sitting in a compartment by himself, lost in his thoughts, stomach churning with nerves as he stared out at the misty platform. He'd watched his parents wave goodbye as the train began to move, and the first, immediate thought that had crossed his mind was to jump from the window and back into the safe, loving arms of his mother before it was too late.

But then the compartment door had slid open, and Al had looked up in surprise. Standing in the doorway was the blonde boy that his Uncle Ron had pointed out on the platform. He was wearing an expensive looking cloak over tasteful Muggle clothing, and his face was thin and pointed, but not unpleasantly so. At that moment, it had held a cautiously hopeful expression.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" the boy had asked, smiling at Al shyly. "No more empty compartments…"

Albus nodded and beckoned toward the seat across from him. "Sure," he'd said, though he was feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Despite his desire to make friends, Al had known, even then, who this boy was. He'd known why Uncle Ron had specifically told Rose not to cross his path. If Albus wanted to avoid Slytherin, making friends with a Malfoy surely wasn't the way to start out at Hogwarts.

Though the boy had been facing the window as they'd sat in an awkward, loaded pause, Al was able to tell that he was studying him out of the corner of his eye, and he'd decided at that moment that he had two choices of how to go about this: they could sit here in silence and share the compartment without too much contact, go their separate ways once they reached school, and probably wind up pitted against each other just like their fathers…or he could speak up, reach out to the other boy, make a friend.

"I'm Albus Potter," he'd said suddenly, introducing himself unnecessarily with a bit of a challenge in his voice.

The other boy turned to look at him fully, narrowing his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. "So that's how we're playing it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Scorpius Malfoy," he went on sarcastically. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm sorry, but what did you say your name was again?"

Albus snorted, relaxing a little in his seat. This was incredibly awkward, but at least they both realised it. "I don't want to make enemies before we even get to school," he told Scorpius carefully after a moment. "I say we call it a truce."

Scorpius looked sceptical as he eyed him up and down. "So you're saying you'd rather get along with a Malfoy?" he asked, his tone guarded.

Al took a deep breath, blowing his hair out of his eyes. "I'll pretend not to care that you're a Malfoy if you'll pretend not to care that I'm a Potter," he said, giving the other boy a half-smile and shrugging a bit.

And it had just sort of snowballed from there, really. They'd talked about everything and nothing, about big, important topics like the fact that Scorpius was secretly hoping he'd be sorted into Gryffindor and how he was nervous about what his dad and grandfather would think if he was, and about stupid, little things like their favourite Bertie Bott's bean flavour. They'd compared their lives, growing up as an only child versus being brought up in one of the largest families in wizarding Britain. They'd talked and talked and talked, all the way to Scotland, until their voices had gone hoarse and their mouths were dry and they felt like they'd known each other for years. And when they'd both been shuffled off to the Gryffindor table, Al had known that he'd made his first friend.

What Albus hadn't counted on, of course, was the strange dynamic that their friendship would take on over the years. They'd always bickered a bit…all friends do. But as they got older, their fights seemed to mature as well. They knew each other inside and out, were privy to all each other's deepest secrets, and by this point in their lives, at the start of their sixth year, they both knew exactly which buttons to push in order to get under each other's skin.

If he was being honest, Al wasn't quite sure what it was that caused them to have such frequent arguments. Maybe it was the fact that they spent nearly every waking moment together or the fact that they were teenage boys with too much testosterone boiling up inside them. Maybe it was the growing pressure to do well in school…Or maybe it was just that they were genetically predisposed to having petty, pointless spats with each other whenever their frustrations built up too high.

Whatever the reason, though, it seemed that their quarrelling was hitting dangerous points. They still made up after every fight, of course. They'd laugh it off and throw it toward the backs of their minds, let everything go with the comfortable, practised ease that comes with knowing another person so completely. But lately, things had begun to escalate. They'd start screaming and shouting, draw their wands, bring up bits and pieces of past arguments as ammunition. It felt like they were heading toward something, but Albus couldn't quite figure out what that might be.

It wasn't until early October of that year that he began to get an inkling of what was coming.

* * *

"I need your help," Scorpius sighed one afternoon, slumping onto the couch next to Albus.

"Yeah, sure," Al said distractedly, not looking up from his Arithmancy book as he continued to scribble complicated equations onto the parchment in front of him. "I totally agree."

"Are you even listening to me?" Scorpius asked as Al flipped back a page to search for something.

Albus glanced up from his notes and saw the distraught, worried look on his friend's face. He sighed and snapped the book shut. It wasn't that he didn't want to help Scorpius; it was just that Al knew where this was going to go. They'd had the same conversation at least six times since school had started back up, and it always ended in the same circular theorising, never actually reaching any sort of conclusion.

"Molly's been…distant lately," Scorpius said once he could tell Al had resigned himself to having this discussion again. "And I can't figure out why."

"Scor, I don't know what you want me to say," Albus told him, shrugging. "We've been over this. Maybe it's just time to call it off. I mean, you two had a good run, but it was never going to be anything permanent. I think we both know that."

Scorpius let his head fall to the back of the couch, staring at the ceiling. Al watched him fiddle with a loose thread in the cushion between them, his fingers pulling lightly at the string. "But she's _funny_, and I really like her. I dunno…" he sighed after a moment, turning his head to look at Albus. "I thought we'd have another couple months in us."

"Things don't always turn out how you want them to," Al told him, shaking his head. "Look, couldn't you just buy her flowers or…I dunno…sing her song or something?"

Scorpius snorted and slapped him on the leg. "Oh, right, like some lovestruck little boy. _That's_ a brilliant idea, Al," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I could throw in a heart-shaped box of chocolates as well."

"Well, I don't know what girls want in relationships," he said in a defensive undertone, glancing around the common room. "You know that. All I've got to go off is books and Muggle films. And anyway, it's easier when you're with another bloke. We skip over all that rubbish and just sort of…you know…get down to business."

"I do _not_ want to think about you 'getting down to business,' thank you very much," Scorpius said, raising his eyebrows. "And besides, you never really date anyone anyway. It's all secret meetings and sweat with you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Albus scoffed, laughing as he pushed his book off his lap. "Trust me, it's better my way. I get what I want, _he_, whoever he happens to be, gets what _he_ wants, and Mum and Dad get to keep on thinking they've still got their perfect, innocent little boy."

Scorpius shook his head, looking at Al with an expression that was somewhere between exasperated and concerned. He reached out a hand as if to touch him on the shoulder, then seemed to think better of it, and withdrew. He let his hand drop back to the couch and began fiddling with the loose string again.

"I don't know why you don't just tell them," he said softly after a moment, not quite meeting Al's eye. "I _know_ your mum and dad, and I know they wouldn't think twice about it. They'd want you to tell them."

Albus licked his lips and looked out the window next to their couch, his eyes narrowing a bit. He knew Scorpius was probably right; his mum and dad were the kinds of people who would support him through everything. He just…he couldn't think of a good way to bring it up. It had taken a lot of winding himself up just to confide in Scorpius a few years ago, and that had been quite enough emotional hardship to last him a good while. He knew he'd have to tell his parents eventually. He couldn't keep going like he was, but…it wasn't an easy thing to do. He sucked in a deep breath, blowing his hair out of his eyes in frustration and shoved at Scorpius's shoulder.

"Let's talk about you," he said in a false, upbeat tone. "What's going on with Molly again?"

Scorpius studied him carefully for a long moment, looking like he wanted to say something important. Finally, he sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head a bit.

"She's avoiding me," he said, averting his eyes to stare into the fire. "Whenever she sees me coming over to the Ravenclaw table at breakfast, she hops up and runs off with a group of her friends. I don't know what I did wrong."

"Well, maybe it's not something _you_ did," Al told him, relieved that Scorpius seemed willing to drop the topic of his stilted relationship with his parents. "Maybe it's just not what she wants anymore."

"She's your cousin, though," Scorpius said exasperatedly. "You ought to know what she wants, right?"

Al shook his head, shrugging. "_All_ the girls in school are my cousins," he said, only half-joking. "Sometimes I think you've slept with the lot of us."

"I haven't slept with you," Scorpius said, a smirk suddenly spreading across his face. "Though I suppose I could've done if I'd wanted to."

"Shut up," Al laughed, glaring at him. "And besides, I'm not _that_ easy. You'd at least've had to buy me a drink first."

"So that's all it would take?" Scorpius asked him in an odd tone that made Albus shift in his seat.

He wasn't sure what the expression on his friend's face meant, but he knew it was one he'd never seen there before. He watched as Scorpius's eyes flicked down for a moment and fixated on his lips, and Al was suddenly very aware of the foot and a half of empty space between them. His fingers twitched where they were resting on the couch cushion, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Something strange was going on here, something he'd never felt before. There was a funny sort of energy coming off Scorpius that made Al want to reach out and connect them in some way…but he didn't. Instead, he cleared his throat loudly, snapping Scorpius out of his trance.

"Right…erm…Molly. That's what we were talking about," Scorpius said quickly, shaking his head. "Maybe I'll just try cornering her tomorrow after Charms. Figure out what's going on in her head."

"Yeah, I think you'd better," Al said distractedly, his voice coming out a bit tight. "You know, I think I'm going to go to the library for a bit. I've really got to work on this…"

Scorpius nodded and ran a hand through his hair as he watched Albus stand and begin hastily packing his things into his bag. "And I've got…you know…things to get done. So…er…I'll just…stay here," he said awkwardly.

Al could feel Scorpius's eyes burning through him as he turned and made his way toward the portrait hole quickly, practically wrenching it open in his hurry to escape. He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he felt as though something large and life-altering would happen if he didn't get away. As he made his way through the corridors, pushing past people on their way to class, he desperately tried not to think about the electric buzzing that had seemed to pass between them. Something in him couldn't quite ignore it, though, and he knew, somehow, that this wouldn't be the last time it happened.


	2. Explosion

**A/N: **There's some rather...er...colourful language in this one, so watch out for that. And if you're American you might not understand half the dialogue. Lol I felt the need to be extra British as I was writing this. Maybe it's homesickness. Ahh well.

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_02 — Explosion_

Gryffindor Tower was as quiet and as peaceful as was to be expected at nine o'clock on a Wednesday in the middle of October. People were scattered about the common room working on essays, revising for tests, chatting with friends and laughing in small groups. Every once in a while, a quiet explosion would go off in a corner as students practised new spells and inevitably got them wrong. An owl fluttered through the open window, dropping off a letter with a soft hoot before flying out again. The fire crackled merrily in its grate, warming those who had been lucky enough to find a seat in one of the closer armchairs. All in all, it was a perfectly normal evening.

But not for long. There was a sudden commotion, and the portrait hole swung open. Scorpius stormed in, fuming, closely followed by Albus, who was trailing in his wake and cackling to himself.

"Mate, she _dumped_ you," Al was saying, shaking his head as he laughed. "Didn't even try to skirt around it, did she? Just cut you loose."

Scorpius's fists were balled up as he flung his bag onto a nearby couch, scattering a scared-looking group of first years. He rounded on Albus furiously, his jaw clenched tight and a snarl on his face. "I don't see _you_ with a girlfriend, Al," he said in a vicious tone, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What, is Daddy's name not enough to win them over anymore?"

Albus raised his eyebrows, a smile still lingering on his face. "Is that the best you've got? Insulting my family?" he asked tauntingly. He knew he should probably just let the whole thing go. This was how their fights always started. A meaningless, teasing comment said at the wrong moment would set one of them off, and before they knew it, they'd be shouting and screaming and drawing their wands. He should have just walked away right then, but he'd always been a bit impulsive. "I've got a few things I could say about _your_ family that would shock the pants off anyone in this room."

"You want to talk about shocking?" Scorpius said, advancing on Albus, finger jabbing into his chest. "How about the fact that you've managed to you've managed to stay in the closet all these years, you great bloody ponce."

Albus grabbed him by the front of his shirt, backing him against the wall. He was lucky that the rest of the Gryffindors were so used to their bickering by now that they mostly tuned out the things said during their arguments. Nonetheless, he could still feel the familiar sting of anger beginning to bubble up inside him.

"How dare you," he hissed, fists clenching tightly in the material of his friend's shirt. "You promised. I ought to—"

"Oi! Lucy and Ricky! No one wants to listen to your handbagging. Take it upstairs," James called over the noise of people talking in the common room. "Some of us have got work to do."

They both turned to glare at him at the same time, and their heads knocked together sharply. Albus took a deep, angry breath and gave Scorpius a rough shove before releasing him and stalking off toward the spiral staircase, rubbing his knuckles. He could hear Scorpius walking behind him, but he didn't turn until they'd reached their dormitory.

"Who the _hell_ do you think you are, shouting out about that in the middle of the common room?" Albus asked him, whirling around as soon as the door had slammed behind them. "I told you that in confidence, you fucking plonker."

"And you think I want all my family's dirty laundry aired in front of everyone, do you?" Scorpius said, his voice rising. "You should count yourself lucky I don't go down there right now and tell them all about what happened with Liam Finnigan last year."

"If you want them to find out how many times your grandfather had to buy his way out of his prison, then be my guest," Albus spat contemptuously.

But he knew immediately that he'd gone too far. The expression on Scorpius's face morphed from one of anger into one of pure disdain. His eyes were cold, lip curled into a snarl. Al's hand twitched toward his wand pocket. He didn't want to be the first to draw, but he knew that look. He had to be ready to defend himself, or one of them would wind up doing something they'd regret.

What Albus wasn't expect, though, was the fist that collided with his jaw at full force. He staggered backward and fell to the floor, his head knocking against the stone with a dull thud. Clutching at his face with one hand, he stared up at Scorpius, bewildered.

"You just _punched_ me," he said, flabbergasted, sitting up and rubbing gingerly at the back of his head. "You fucking tosser, I can't believe you hit me."

"And you bloody well deserved it," Scorpius snarled as Albus got to his feet. "My family might have a few dark spots, Potter, but at least I'm not a ruddy shirt-lifter."

Al flinched away from the word as though it had been another physical blow. Whatever amount of anger that had been swept away in the shock of being hit rushed back to him instantaneously. He stalked forward until he was just inches from his friend's face, the pain in his jaw forgotten.

"You want to fight like Muggles?" Albus asked fiercely, expression contorted with rage.

He gave Scorpius a look up and down, and without warning, he swung his arm around, knuckles smashing into Scorpius's cheekbone with a nasty crunch. Scorpius reared back with the force of the punch, his hands fisting in Al's shirt and dragging him with him as he went, the two of them tumbling to a heap on the floor. Albus twisted around, trying to get free, but fell back to the ground when Scorpius kicked his leg out and caught him around the ankle. He felt the heavy pressure of a body pinning him to the ground and tried to roll out of it, grabbing a handful of Scorpius's hair and yanking at it roughly. Scorpius caught him around the wrist with one hand and squeezed mercilessly until Al's fingers released him. Albus wriggled helplessly, trying to get free, as Scorpius snatched his other arm and pinned both his hands above his head. With his free hand, he grabbed Al's tie, pulling it a bit tighter around his throat.

"Are you going to stop?" Scorpius asked him as he sat back a bit, his eyebrows raised. His cheek was swelling up from where Al had hit him, and there was a cut just above his lip. "You know you can't win."

Scorpius was right, of course; it was utterly clear by this point who was physically stronger. If they'd been fighting with wands, Al probably would have had a fair chance, but there was no way he was getting out of this until Scorpius decided to let him up. Even so, he craned his neck up to get closer to him and spat in his face. Scorpius released his tie and brought his hand up to wipe off his cheek, disgusted.

"That was a mistake," he hissed, leaning down again so that his face was very close to Al's.

Albus screwed up his eyes, bracing himself for the slap that he knew was coming…but nothing happened. He peeked open an eye cautiously, peering up at Scorpius. His friend's expression was no longer one of anger or fury, or even of irritation. He looked…shocked. His eyes were wide, his mouth hanging open slightly. Albus looked up at him in confusion, brow furrowing.

"What —" Al began to ask. Scorpius gave him a pointed look and shifted his hips a bit. He felt his breath catch in his throat, and he blinked quickly several times. "Oh…"

When Scorpius had leant forward, their hips had aligned just so…and Albus was suddenly very aware of the fact that he was being straddled, that Scorpius was mere inches from his face. He swallowed thickly as he watched Scorpius's gaze flick down to his lips. Their eyes met, and there was a beat of hesitation in which Al felt his heart rate pick up, his breath coming a bit more quickly.

Albus was about to blush, to open his mouth and make a joke about it, to play the whole thing off as though it had never even happened…but then Scorpius was surging forward, their lips crashing together violently. Al was frozen in a brief moment of complete surprise as he tried to wrench his arms free out of reflex. But then Scorpius pushed his tongue past Al's teeth roughly, his free hand grabbing him by the waist, and Albus moaned embarrassingly loud as their hips ground together.

He strained to get his arms free, and when Scorpius finally let him go, his hands flew immediately to latch in his friend's hair, pulling him down with crushing force. He felt Scorpius's fingers yanking at the knot of his tie, heard the clack of buttons hitting the cold stone floor as he started to get impatient. Scorpius began to move his mouth down his neck, biting harshly as he went, and Al let his head fall back against the stone, desperately trying to catch his breath.

"What's…what are…are we actually doing this?" he panted, nearly incoherent, eyes rolling back in his head as their hips rolled together again. His hands moved to grab Scorpius by the arse, forcing him closer, and Scorpius's mouth fell open as he groaned into Al's ear.

"Bed," Al heard him growl, his voice insistent. "Now."

It was remarkable, really, how they managed to stand and begin stumbling toward his four-poster without breaking contact. Scorpius's hand was pressed firmly into the small of his back as he sprawled onto the mattress, the two of them falling together. Scorpius pushed at him, trying to get him to move onto the bed properly, and Al wriggled backward, pulling Scorpius with him. He turned his face to break free, dodging his friend's attempts to reconnect their mouths.

"Stop," he panted, shaking his head to clear away the fog. "Just…just hang on for a tick."

Scorpius pulled back to look at him, and Albus had to close his eyes to keep himself coherent. His friend's lips were ravished red, his pupils blown wide, and there was a sort of hungry look in his eye that Al didn't think he'd be able to resist for long.

"What are we doing?" he asked again after a moment, once he'd caught his breath, his eyes still shut.

He felt Scorpius shift a bit and then roll off, leaving Albus feeling oddly cold. He opened his eyes and turned his head on the pillow to look over at his friend, who had an arm thrown over his eyes.

"I dunno," Scorpius groaned, sliding his hand across his face before turning to meet Al's eye, the sides of their bodies pressed together on the small bed. "Sorry…it just sort of happened. Got carried away."

Albus blinked at him in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, I wasn't complaining, but you're not…are you?" he asked.

"What?"

"Into blokes," Al said bluntly, giving him a firm stare.

Scorpius let out a huff, turning his head to stare up at the canopy over the bed, one hand coming to rest on his stomach. Albus watched intently as a muscle clenched in the side of his friend's jaw. They were silent for a long moment.

"No," Scorpius said finally, sighing. "Not as such. I wouldn't want to be in a _relationship_ with another bloke…but sex is sex, you know?"

Albus snorted, rolling his eyes and sitting up. He stared down at Scorpius for a moment, smiling, then reached a hand out and shoved his head off the pillow.

"You're an idiot," he said affectionately, slapping him on the cheek.

"I'm sorry about all that shit I said," Scorpius told him, catching him by the wrist and pressing Al's knuckles to his lips. "You know you're my best mate, right?"

"Yeah, well, like I said. You're an idiot," Albus said, raising an eyebrow and pulling his hand away. He stood from the bed and started toward the door, redoing his tie as he went.

"Al," Scorpius called after him. Albus turned with his hand on the latch and saw his friend hanging upside-down off the bed, a wide grin on his face. "Was I better than Liam?"

Albus shook his head, smirking. "If you ever have the bollocks to go that far, I'll let you know," he said, turning to make his way into the corridor and back down the stairs, smiling as he heard Scorpius's shocked laugh coming from their dormitory.


	3. Beginning

**A/N:** This is so embarrassingly long. :/ I tried to cap it at 3000 words, but it got out of hand. Lol I hope you like it! Please review!

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_03 — Beginning_

Albus barely glanced up from his Potions essay as Scorpius slid into a seat next to him. He held up a hand to cut off any looming conversation for a moment as he twirled his quill between his fingers, rereading what he'd just written. When he reached the end of the page, he threw down the quill with a sigh and sat back in his seat, stretching his arms over his head, his back cracking. He'd been in this spot in the library for going on two hours as he tried to find a way to stretch a topic as dull as the effects of peppermint on salamander hearts into three feet of parchment.

"I don't even understand why you're taking NEWT level Potions," Scorpius said, shaking his head as he watched Albus pull his tie loose around his neck and roll up his sleeves before picking his quill back up.

"What d'you want?" Al asked him, raising his eyebrows and ignoring the question. "I've still got nine inches to write for tomorrow."

Scorpius considered him for a moment, his eyes flicking around the darkened library to make sure they weren't overheard. He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands. Albus watched him awkwardly fiddle with the corner of a sheet of parchment, the backs of his ears turning red. He was stalling, and Al could tell he was searching for the right words.

"Alright, spit it out," Albus told him after a beat of silence, frowning in confusion. "What's got your pants in a twist?"

"I was thinking…" Scorpius said quietly, glancing up to meet Al's eye again. Al looked at him expectantly. "Well, you know that thing that happened last week? The erm…in the dormitory…with you and me?"

Albus tried hard to fight back his smile as he set down his quill again and laced his fingers behind his head, sitting back in the chair and crossing his ankles under the table. "What thing was that?" he asked, feigning innocence. Scorpius shot him a glare. "Fine," he laughed, rolling his eyes. "What about it?"

Scorpius shifted in his seat a bit. "Well I…It doesn't have to…I mean…I was thinking…we could try it again…"

Al's eyebrows shot up toward his hairline in surprise. "Really?" He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Not us _together_ or anything, you know," Scorpius said quickly. "Not in a proper relationship. Just…you know…two mates helping each other out."

"You mean like friends with benefits?" Albus asked him, leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on the table. "No commitment?"

"Exactly," Scorpius said. "I mean, I _know_ it's been a while for you…since that whole thing with Cassio over the summer, and I'm not seeing anyone now. So there'd be no harm, right?"

"Well, it's not been _that_ long," Albus said with a smirk, pushing his hair out of his eyes and glancing toward a particular section of the library. "Cassio in the Library with the lead pipe."

Scorpius followed his gaze, confused, then he pulled a face when he realised what Al was saying. "Oh, you didn't," he said in a disgusted voice. "Al, he's in _Hufflepuff_. And he's dating Lucy!"

"Well, he wasn't with her in September," Albus said defensively, holding up his hands. "How was I to know he was going to try and conquer all the Weasleys in a year? Mind you, that's not an easy thing. More power to him if he can make it, I say."

"You're unbelievable," Scorpius said, rolling his eyes in exasperation and kicking Al under the table. "Anyway…moving on from _that_, which is a whole other issue we'll get to later…What do you think? About us," he asked.

"I dunno…I mean, if you're up for it," Albus said, scratching at the back of his neck. "We could be totally free to see other people. It doesn't have to be any kind of commitment, right?"

"No, of course not," Scorpius said quickly. "Just think of it like scratching an itch. We'd stay exactly the same as we are now, just with…certain _other_ bits thrown in."

"Alright then," Albus shrugged, nodding as though he hadn't just agreed to have casual sex with his best friend. "But I've really got to get back to this essay. Maybe later?"

"Seriously?" Scorpius asked disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow as Al picked his quill back up and pulled a heavy Potions book across the table.

Al glanced up at him, nodding his head. "I've said yes," he told him as though it were obvious. "I don't see why not. We might as well do it with each other where we know there's no chance of feelings getting in there."

Scorpius considered him for a moment, but Albus just ignored him. He went back to his essay, running his finger down a page and looking for more information. Though he could practically feel his friend's eyes burning a hole through the side of his head, he didn't look up until a hand landed on his knee a moment later.

"So if I were to do _this_," Scorpius asked him, slowly sliding his hand up the inside of Al's thigh, "how would you react?"

"I'd tell you to piss off and let me finish this," Al said without missing a beat, his attention still focused on the ancient textbook in front of him.

Scorpius nodded seriously, his hand still inching up Al's leg. "Right, of course," he said, and Albus could hear the smirk in his voice. "Sorry."

"Seriously, Scor, I really need to —" Albus began, but just then, his hand reached its goal. Al's eyes went wide as he felt Scorpius grab him roughly through his trousers. "Oh, God," he said quietly, his quill dropping from his suddenly limp fingers.

Scorpius leant forward and reached his other hand out to wrap it around the side of Al's neck, pulling him in. "And if I did this?" he asked, lips pressed to the shell of his ear as he gave him a bit of a squeeze.

"I…erm…would say that we can't do this in the Library," Albus said, though they were the only ones here at the moment. He swallowed thickly as he felt Scorpius's teeth latch onto his earlobe.

"You let _Cassio_ do this here," he said teasingly. "And I'm guessing he did quite a bit more as well."

"Yes, but you see, that was…_oh_…in the middle of the night. With the…_nng_…invisibility cloak," Albus said, pressing his fist to his forehead as his legs fell open under the table. He shook his head and bit his lip, his eyes falling closed as Scorpius continued to massage him through his trousers. "You're a bit keen, aren't you?"

"Am I?" Scorpius asked him, still pressed intoxicatingly close to Albus.

"For a bloke who claims to be straight?" Al asked, turning his head to press their cheeks together, his breath picking up as Scorpius's hand became more insistent. "I'd say so."

Scorpius hummed noncommittally and removed his hand, backing up and leaving Al stranded on the other side of the table. "I suppose," he said, smirking as he stood up and straightened his tie. "I understand if you want to get back to your homework. Don't let me keep you."

Albus glared up at him as he began stuffing his things into his bag haphazardly. He stood quickly and brushed past Scorpius without a word, stalking off toward the door and knowing he would follow. "Stupid manipulative bastard," he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. "I'll never get any work done now."

"So where are we headed?" Scorpius asked him cheerfully, jogging a bit to catch up as Albus ducked past a tapestry to enter a secret passage.

They came out the other end and started up a long staircase. "Room of Requirement," Al said over his shoulder, taking the steps two at a time.

"Is that where you take all your sordid affairs?" Scorpius asked once they'd reached the top and started down the corridor toward the hidden doorway.

"Belt up and let me concentrate," Albus said, rolling his eyes at Scorpius.

He walked back and forth three times, his eyes screwed shut. _I need a bedroom_, he said over and over in his mind. He'd found over the years that it was best to keep his requests simple when it came to this room. It had apparently been damaged pretty badly during the war while his father was here, and it was still a bit finicky about producing complicated rooms.

He opened his eyes once he was finished and glanced over his shoulder at Scorpius, who was leaning against the opposite wall with his hands shoved in his pockets, watching Al with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Albus asked him. "You'd better not start something you can't finish."

"Oh, I'll finish it," Scorpius said as though Al's comment had been a challenge. He pushed off the wall and moved toward the door, grabbing Albus by the wrist as he went. He pulled the door open and dragged him inside. Once he caught sight of the bed, though, he seemed to falter a bit. "But how do we start?"

Al looked up from where he was setting down his bag. "Well, it's a bit different to how I'd imagine being with a girl is, but the mechanics are basically the same," he said, smiling as he ran a hand through his hair. "Look, relax. If this doesn't work, then we'll just laugh about it and move on. No harm done."

Albus moved closer to him, feeling a bit out of his element; he wasn't used to being the one who had to take charge when it came to things like this. He put a hand on Scorpius's shoulder and gave him a half-smile. "Let's just stick to what we know we can do and see where it takes us," he said quietly.

Scorpius nodded and swayed forward slightly, just barely brushing his lips over Al's, and Albus felt a shock run through him. He put a bit more pressure on his friend's shoulder as he stepped in closer, and Scorpius's arms slipped around his waist, pulling him in tight as the kiss deepened. Al was beginning to feel light-headed with it, and he pulled back, letting Scorpius move to his neck.

"We're obviously good at this bit," he gasped as Scorpius began to back them toward the bed. "Do you actually know what you're doing though?"

"Belt up and let me concentrate," Scorpius smirked, echoing Al's words back at him as they toed off their shoes and socks.

He grabbed Albus by the tie and pulled him back in, one of his hands scrabbling for Al's zipper. Al began to fumble with the knot at his friend's throat, pulling the silky material loose and starting to undo his shirt. Just then, the backs of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he fell, dragging Scorpius with him. Their noses knocked together painfully and Albus broke away, laughing to himself as he continued to pull at Scorpius's buttons.

"You're such a child," Scorpius mumbled as Al giggled into their kiss, trying hard to contain himself.

"I'm sorry," Albus said in between laughter, shaking his head. "I just can't believe we're doing this. This is _such_ a bad idea."

Scorpius pulled back and stared down at him, a hand resting on his hip as he moved to straddle him a bit more. Albus looked up at him, his eyes growing dark as he took in his friend's dishevelled appearance, a familiar hot feeling curling in the pit of his stomach.

"Do you want to stop?" Scorpius asked after a moment of loaded silence.

"Don't you dare," Al said, hating how desperate his voice sounded as he reached up to grab Scorpius's shoulder, pulling him back down.

They stayed like that for a moment, wrapped up in each other, mouths locked together frantically, until Al began to get the sense that Scorpius wasn't sure where he was supposed to go from here. Albus planted his foot in the bed and flipped them with a bit of difficulty, Scorpius letting out a surprised little sound as he found himself suddenly lying on his back.

Al pulled back, sitting up with his knees on either side of his friend's hips as he shucked off his shirt hurriedly and began undoing Scorpius's belt. Scorpius placed a hand on the side of Al's thigh as he went about it, rubbing up and down slowly, his fingers catching on the loops of Al's trousers.

"Not exactly the blushing virgin, are you?" Scorpius asked in an amused tone, angling his head as Al started tugging at the collar of his shirt.

"What ever gave you the impression that I would be?" Albus asked him distractedly, his fingers undoing his friend's buttons with practised ease.

He slid his hands up Scorpius's bare chest, pushing the material off his shoulders smoothly. Al could feel Scorpius getting harder where he was sitting on him, and he smirked a bit to himself, grinding his hips down smoothly. Scorpius threw his head back and groaned, fingers digging into Al's hip roughly, his other hand reaching up to grab at his bare shoulder and drag him back down before flipping them back over.

He began to kick off his trousers and Al, sprawled on his back again, began to tug at the waistband of his pants, fingers slipping under the back edge as he grabbed at Scorpius's bum and tried to pull his own slacks down toward the end of the bed. Scorpius moaned into Al's mouth when he felt the hot, heavy heat of the two of them pressed together, nothing but a thin piece of cotton keeping them apart.

"It's good, isn't it?" Albus asked him breathlessly, laughing at the overwhelmed look on his friend's face.

"Just let me…" Scorpius said, his words muffled as he pressed his forehead into the place between Al's collarbones. "Give me a minute to…" He took a deep, steadying breath as he moved his fingers to the waistline of Al's pants. "Right. On with it."

Albus shook his head, laughing at the nervous expression on his friend's face. Scorpius just glared at him as he continued to tug at the elastic. Al watched for his reaction curiously; Scorpius had taken this all remarkably well until this point, and Albus wanted to see how he would feel once there was no turning back. He watched with a satisfied smirk as Scorpius's eyes went a bit wide, his throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly. He reached out a tentative hand to touch Albus, and Al felt a shiver run up his spine.

"What do I…?" Scorpius asked, suddenly looking a bit self-conscious.

"You get your pants off and carry on," Al told him, letting his fingers slide under the back edge of his friend's briefs.

Scorpius nodded distractedly as Albus began to tug his pants down his hips. "But _how_ do we…you know…go about it?" he asked.

Al snorted, rolling his eyes. "Must I do everything myself?" he asked, exasperated. He grabbed Scorpius by the wrist and sucked two of his fingers into his mouth before guiding his hand down between his legs. He pressed his friend's fingers against his entrance, and Scorpius pulled a face.

"Really?" he asked, grimacing at the thought, his eyebrows going up. "You actually enjoy that?"

"Just do it already," Al said, laying his head back against the pillows with a knowing smile on his face. "You'll thank me once you've started."

Scorpius looked sceptical, but he pushed a finger in slowly nonetheless. "Oh…" he said quietly as soon as he felt the tight, hot heat around him.

Al wriggled a little where he was lying, bringing his knees up to give Scorpius an easier go at it. "And another," he urged, letting his eyes fall closed as he felt a second finger pushing into him.

Scorpius moved his fingers in and out slowly, staring down at the happy smile that was beginning to spread across Al's face. Albus was surprised when he felt a third finger enter him without any kind of provocation, and he began to get impatient as Scorpius continued to move slowly in and out of him. There was a burning pleasure beginning to fill him, deep in his gut, but it wasn't enough; he needed more. He reached for Scorpius, pressing lips to his ear desperately.

"Need you now," he muttered into his skin. "Inside me."

Scorpius pulled his fingers out easily, and Al almost cried out at the loss of sensation. "You're sure?" Scorpius asked him cautiously.

"_Fuck_," Al said hastily, pulling at Scorpius's hip. "Fuck me."

Scorpius nodded and aligned himself carefully. Al bit his lip to keep himself from screaming out in frustration as Scorpius pushed into him slowly, almost tentatively, staring down at him with a nervous look on his face. Al raised an eyebrow at him, unimpressed, though he knew it was rather difficult to look dignified while he was lying naked on his back with his knees raised. He hooked one of his feet around Scorpius's leg and gave him a bit of a pull. This was not going to be as hard and fast as he normally liked it. He could already tell Scorpius would need a bit of urging.

"Get on with it already," he said teasingly, a smirk playing across his lips.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, his hands splayed on either side of Al's head. "Well, I don't want to _hurt_ you," he said, and Albus could hear that his voice still sounded a bit unsure.

Al reached up and caught one of his wrists, giving it a reassuring little squeeze. "You won't," he said, letting his fingers linger there, thumb brushing over his skin lightly. "I'm not one of your girls. You don't have to worry about breaking me."

Scorpius gave him a sceptical look and pushed forward a bit more. Albus nodded encouragingly, pulling at him a bit more with his foot as he tried to fight back a laugh at the expression on Scorpius's face. Scorpius must have found the courage he needed to go on, though, because he suddenly pushed forward all at once, bottoming out in Albus.

Al had _not_ been expecting that. He felt his eyes roll back in his head as his mouth dropped open, and he let out a deep, involuntary moan, his back arching up off the bed. Scorpius dropped to his elbows at the sensation and buried his face in Al's neck, breath hot and laboured. Albus reached a hand up to tangle fingers in his hair, and he turned his head to press his lips to his friend's temple, a breathless little smile turning up the corners of his mouth. His toes curled into the backs of Scorpius's calves, the nails of his other hand raking down his back slowly.

"It's alright," he mumbled quietly, his eyes falling closed. "You can move. I'm used to this."

Despite their rather intimate situation, Scorpius let out a snort of laughter, his forehead pressing against Al's shoulder. "Slut."

Albus cuffed him round the back of the head, his smile widening a bit. "Are you still trying to show up Liam Finnigan?" he asked, chin resting on top of Scorpius's head, his fingers playing lightly across the small of his back. "Because let me tell you, mate, you're not getting too far."

Scorpius bit down on his collarbone in retaliation and began to pull out, little by little. After a few inches he began to move back in again, still agonisingly slow. Al laughed, laying his head back in the pillows and placing a hand over his eyes.

"Pick up your pace," he said, still snickering as Scorpius began to pull out again. "It's no fun for anyone this way."

"Will you quit laughing at me, you little prick?" he asked, pausing and pulling back to glare down at Al. "It's distracting."

Albus moved his hand to cover his mouth and nodded once at Scorpius, signalling him to go on, though his shoulders were still shaking with suppressed giggles. Any laughter that remained, though, was wiped clean from his mind when Scorpius pulled all the way out and slammed back in again. Al groaned and let his hand drop off his face as Scorpius began moving in and out much more quickly than before. Albus reached up and grabbed him by the back of the neck, hauling him down, their mouths crashing together.

"Much…better," he panted into the kiss.

Scorpius moved to bury his face in Al's neck again, mouthing messily at his skin. Albus hooked his ankles around his friend's back, mouth hanging open as he let out breathless little mewls, his heart banging around in his chest.

"A bit faster…harder…" he stammered, struggling to remain coherent enough to give direction, his fingers digging into Scorpius's shoulders sharply. Suddenly, he threw his head back with a loud moan that ended on a helpless whimper, his mouth hanging open. "Oh, God, you've found it," he said, a satisfied smile spreading across his face as shocks of pleasure ran through him.

He wrapped an arm around Scorpius's neck, holding him close as he felt his release coming on. Everything was sweat and heat and blonde hair sticking to his cheek, his mouth hanging open as he cried out into Scorpius's ear. He felt it building up inside him and his fingers scrabbled across his friend's back desperately, his toes curling and his back arching as he came with an incredible force. One, two more pumps, and Scorpius faltered, buried full to the hilt in Al, mouth open over his ear and groaning as he followed.

Albus's arm went limp where it was clasped around Scorpius's neck, and he let his other hand fall from his back and onto the bed with a dull thud. They stayed like that for a moment as they both tried to collect themselves, Scorpius still buried deep in him and breathing hard against his neck. Finally, he began to pull out and Al's eyes fell closed at the feeling, everything in his body over-sensitised.

Scorpius rolled off him and sprawled over on his back, a hand reaching out to poke at the quickly congealing come on Al's stomach. Albus was too lost to mind and barely even noticed when Scorpius stretched over the edge of the bed to retrieve his wand and clean it up. He flopped back down once he was done and turned his head on the pillow to look at Albus.

"So how'd I do?" he asked, reaching a hand out to shove at Al's head. Albus ducked out of the way, his chest still rising and falling rapidly.

"Full marks," he laughed, shaking his head disbelievingly, a sated grin spreading across his face. He let his eyes fall closed, laughing as he pressed a hand to his slick forehead and tried to catch his breath. "_Definitely_ better than Liam."


	4. Agreement

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and given me support on this story! It's a great feeling knowing that people like what you're doing, and I hope you love this one just as much…So please _keep reviewing_! :)

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_04 — Agreement_

They didn't talk about it after that; not for a whole week. Since they'd now reached their NEWT levels, Albus and Scorpius only had one class together, and Defence with Professor McMahon was not exactly conducive to long, complicated conversations about how they may have very nearly destroyed their friendship by jumping headfirst into a relationship that neither of them were probably ready for. Aside from that, it seemed that wherever Al went over the next few days, Scorpius was very careful not to be there. He'd taken to eating his meals half an hour earlier than usual, and he would stay in the library writing essays and revising for exams until well after he knew Albus normally went to bed. All in all, though, Albus wasn't really complaining…he was pretty sure he didn't want to talk about it any more than Scorpius did.

They were at an impasse, a point from which Al couldn't see any moving on. He cursed himself for giving in to his hormones so easily, hated the fact that he had thrown five solid years of friendship out the window for a few moments of quick shagging. Well, it _had_ been pretty incredible…alright, it had been bloody fantastic. But that wasn't the point. The point was that things were awkward now. Unbelievably awkward, and Albus felt like he needed to find a way to break the mounting tension between them, or they'd never come back from it.

It took him until the following Monday to work up the courage to corner Scorpius as they were leaving Defence. He caught him by the arm as Scorpius tried to rush out the door without making any sort of eye contact with him. Scorpius turned around as though he'd been burnt, jerking his arm away from the touch, his face flushing bright red.

"Scor, we really need to talk," Albus sighed, shaking his head as he pulled his hand away. "I don't want to do it any more than you do, but…we've got to fix this."

"Look," Scorpius said, glancing over his shoulder nervously and clutching at the strap of his bag, "we made a mistake, alright? It was stupid and we lost control and…we should just forget it ever happened."

"We can't just _forget_ about it," Al said frustratedly, raking a hand through his hair. "I know it's uncomfortable, but pretending it didn't happen obviously isn't working for us. I haven't spoken to you in six days."

"And what's so odd about that?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow at him and taking a step back. "We've gone longer than that without speaking during the holidays."

Albus rolled his eyes, looking up and down the hall. There didn't seem to be anyone headed their way, and he knew they both had a break at this time, so he marched forward, grabbed Scorpius by the arm, and dragged him into an empty classroom.

"We're going to talk about this, whether you like it or not," Al said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest and fixing Scorpius with a hard stare. "And don't give me any of that shit about it being a mistake. If I remember correctly, _you_ were the one who came on to _me_."

"Yeah, well then I suppose _I_ made the mistake," Scorpius said coldly, trying to push past Albus to get to the door. "Will you just move? I've got to get to Charms."

"You don't have Charms till after lunch," Al said, standing his ground.

"Well…then I've got to get to lunch," Scorpius said, though it was obvious by his tone that even he could tell it was a bit of a pathetic excuse. Albus just raised an eyebrow at him, refusing to move, and Scorpius sighed and dropped his bag to the floor, sitting down hard on top of a desk. "Fine. Let's _talk_. You're acting like you're my bloody girlfriend, you know that?"

Al pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. He wanted to have this conversation rationally. The last thing he wanted was to begin name calling, especially when it seemed their friendship was hanging in such a fragile balance.

"I'm not acting like your girlfriend," he said after a moment, a muscle clenching in his jaw as he said the word. "I'm acting like I'm your best mate who hasn't hardly seen you in a week because we acted like idiots the other day."

"Like I said, we've gone —" Scorpius began angrily, but Albus cut him off with a glare.

"This is different to the holidays, Scor. We live in the same room," he said, exasperated. "I speak to my sister more often than this and she's in a completely different house."

Scorpius sighed heavily, averting his eyes to stare at the ground. "Maybe you're right, but —"

"I _am_ right," Al interjected stubbornly.

"_Maybe_ you're right," Scorpius repeated, looking up to fix Albus with a firm stare, "but I don't see where we're supposed to go from here. I mean…we had…I…_you_…and I can't move on from that."

"What does that mean?" Albus asked him, shaking his head. "You're saying we're done?"

"No! God, you're not getting it," Scorpius said, running a hand through his hair frustratedly and hopping off the desk. He paced a short stretch of floor, pressing two fingers to his temple. "I can't get it out of my head. It's like…every time I look at you now, that's all I see, and it's…I can't…I mean, I'm not…Merlin, this is hard to say…"

"Alright, alright, back up," Al said, waving a hand through the air and frowning. "So you're saying it _wasn't_ a mistake? Or are you saying you regret it ever happened? You've got to tell me what's going on, because I'm confused."

Scorpius stopped his pacing, coming to a halt in front of Albus, letting out a huff of air. "I think we may have jumped into it too fast," he said finally, narrowing his eyes and studying Al carefully. "We went from me breaking things off with Molly to…_that_…in the space of about four days. It's just hard for me to get my head 'round it."

"Well, if we're being technical, _she_ broke things off with _you_," Al said, the ghost of a smirk beginning to form on his lips. Scorpius quelled him with a dangerous glare. "Right, sorry, serious conversation. So you want to…what? Carry on but slow it down a bit? I mean, do you think that'll really work? Look what happened to us after just one time. What'll we do if this turns into our new normal?"

"I know, I know," Scorpius sighed, looking down at the floor and taking a step closer to Albus. "But maybe…maybe we just need to get it out of our systems. I feel like there's this big massive _thing_ between us now, and it wasn't meant to _be_ like this! It was just supposed to be a bit of fun."

Albus bit down hard on his tongue, thinking, his brow furrowing as he leant back against the wall. Finally he shook his head, laughing under his breath.

"It sounded like a good idea at the time," he said quietly, pressing his fingers into his closed eyes. "Well, no, actually it sounded like a rubbish idea, but…" he gestured at Scorpius vaguely. "You were just _there_. With your stupid mouth and your sodding hands all over the place and…shit."

"We fucked up, didn't we?" Scorpius asked helplessly, leaning backwards against a desk, his ankles crossed in front of him.

"Yeah. We did," Al laughed, nodding.

They were silent for a long moment, staring at each other in the darkened light of the empty classroom as Al's laughter died out. Albus was starting to feel like maybe they _could_ forget this had happened. It seemed like, now they'd actually talked about it, gotten all this awkwardness out in the open, maybe they could move on. Maybe their friendship _hadn't_ been entirely blasted to pieces. Although…

"So d'you want to do it again?" Scorpius asked suddenly, standing up from his desk and crossing the room quickly toward Albus.

"Oh, thank God," Al said, throwing caution to the wind as he grabbed a fistful of Scorpius's hair and pulled him in desperately.

They collided with a kind of pent-up force and frustration, Scorpius backing him into the wall and pinning him there, one of his knees slipping between Al's legs, their mouths locked. Albus wrapped a hand firmly around his waist, pulling their hips together and rocking against him roughly. Scorpius groaned into his mouth, his hands becoming insistent as he tugged at Al's zipper.

"All I've been thinking about," Scorpius gasped as they broke away for air. "Couldn't get it out of my head. God, I hate you."

Albus smirked, a bit self-satisfied, as he fumbled blindly for Scorpius's belt, his fingers slipping as he tried to hastily pop the button of his trousers open. He reached around Scorpius and slipped his hand into his back pocket, groping for his wand. He locked the door and cast a silencing charm on them before pulling Scorpius back in.

"Let's ruin our friendship completely, shall we?" he asked, wand still in his hand as he pushed off the wall and guided them toward a desk, pulling Scorpius's tie loose as he went.

Buttons clattered to the floor as they tried to get their shirts off. Al bit a trail along Scorpius's jawline restlessly as Scorpius tried to get his trousers down. Albus fisted a hand in the material of his pants, yanking them down quickly. He held up the wand in his hand, wiggling it a little.

"I'll teach you this one later," he said with a smirk. "For now, let's just get on with it."

He cast a few select charms on himself and pulled Scorpius in for another kiss, their tongues fighting each other roughly for a moment, before he broke away and turned around, leaning forward over the desk, holding himself up with his hands braced in front of him.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," he heard Scorpius mutter helplessly, a note of desperation in his voice. "Is it always like this with you?"

Albus swallowed thickly, his heart racing. "Do you want to talk, or do you want to keep heading where we were going?" he asked impatiently, looking over his shoulder and rolling his eyes.

Scorpius looked like he couldn't quite believe what was happening as he took in the sight in front of him. He moved to stand behind Albus, a hand sliding slowly up his back as he reached down with his other to press his fingers at Al's entrance. He froze.

"How did you…?"

"That was the spell I just did," Al said, drumming his fingers on the hard wood top of the desk anxiously. "And like I said, I'll teach you later. Now will you please —"

But he flew forward suddenly as Scorpius slammed into him, his arms flying out instinctively to catch himself as the desk came rushing up to meet his face. He curled his fingers around the edges table top, white-knuckled and groaning loudly, the desk creaking in protest as they rushed into it.

"You've gotten better at this," he panted as Scorpius curled a hand around his hip, fingers bruising as they dug into his skin.

"I'm a quick learner," Scorpius muttered, leaning forward to press his mouth against the skin at the nape of Al's neck, his breath hot and electrifying.

Albus heard himself let out a deep, hoarse moan at the new angle, and he reached a hand down to tug at himself desperately, his head swimming with a heady sort of buzzing that made him feel like screaming his lungs out. Scorpius came before he did, faltering after a moment, his fingers pressing down on Al's hipbone with even more pressure, his other hand coming up to grab him by the shoulder. The feeling of being filled up so completely made Albus groan, and he fell forward with a thud as he followed, losing all control and letting his arms give out as Scorpius stumbled backward away from him.

He laid there for a moment, draped over the desk, his cheek pressed against the wooden top. After he'd caught his breath a bit, a pushed himself up with a grunt, pulling his pants back on and buckling his trousers, pausing briefly to run his thumb curiously over the purple coloured fingerprints that were beginning to form on the just of his hipbone. He looked up at Scorpius with a crooked grin as he shrugged back into his shirt, replacing the lost buttons with a flick of his wand.

"So we're alright, then?" he asked, as though their conversation was continuing straight on from where they'd left off. "We're not going to have any more of this rubbish about not talking to each other?"

"If you're good, I'm good," Scorpius said nonchalantly, glancing up as he redid his tie. "More importantly, though, I hope the house elves are serving something good for lunch today. I'm _starved_."

"It's Monday, so I wouldn't count on it," Al said as he lifted his bag back over his shoulder and passed Scorpius's wand back to him. "They usually just give us the leftovers from the weekend."

He crossed the room to the door, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Scorpius was fully dressed, before pulling it open and stepping out into the corridor.

"Oh no, I'd forgotten it was Monday," Scorpius whined as he trotted to catch up with Albus, running a hand through his hair. "I've got Quidditch practise tonight then. I've _got_ to start training the new players. Not the best crop we've seen, I'll tell you that."

Al pulled a face as they made their way down to the Great Hall, shaking his head. "Don't let my dad hear you say that," he said. "Or my mum, for that matter. I can hear them whinging about it now. _It's your job to pick the best of them_."

"Well, if you'd just get of your high horse and try out, maybe we'd have a chance at beating Slytherin," Scorpius laughed, raising an eyebrow at Albus as they sank onto benches at the long Gryffindor table. His gaze fixed on someone over Al's left shoulder. "With Lily as their Seeker, I don't know if we'll be able to win at all this season."

"Oh, come off it," Al said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed a sandwich up off a plate. "You're a better Seeker than her any day."

Scorpius laughed, waving him off and reaching for food, and Albus couldn't help thinking about how terrifyingly normal all this felt. Less than ten minutes ago, he'd been bent over a desk, gasping and moaning, and now…here they were, eating lunch as though nothing strange was going on at all. Maybe this was how things were going to be from now on, he though. Maybe that's what this whole thing was _supposed_ to be. Easy. Simple. Just what he needed.


	5. Trouble

**A/N: **I am _so, so_ sorry this has taken me so long. I've only just gotten caught up on school work. This semester hit me a lot harder than I expected it to, but I think I've got a handle on it for now, so updates should be a bit more frequent from now on. Please don't stone me! :) But do review!

_05 — Trouble_

"Al, wait up!"

He turned, stopping to look behind him as he started up the marble staircase in the entrance hall. He'd just left Potions, and he was on his way back to Gryffindor Tower to drop his heavy bag off before heading back downstairs for dinner. The vague idea of trying to find Scorpius had begun to float across his mind when he caught site of Rose waving and pushing past people to make her way up to him.

"Hello," she said, a smile spreading across her face once she'd reached the place where he was waiting for her. "I feel as though I haven't seen you in _ages_. We've both been so busy, and you're not taking Herbology with us anymore, and we've got so much to catch up on, but _first_, I've got to tell you something."

She dropped her bag on the empty step between them and began peeling off her damp cloak. November had come on with a vengeance, whipping the castle with sleeting rain and gushing winds, and Albus didn't envy the people who had to leave the warm, dry confines of the castle walls to make the trek down to the greenhouses or out to the pitch for Quidditch practise. Scorpius had come in from the field soaked to the bone and covered in mud every night of the past week.

"Just move along, would you?" Rose snapped as a group of younger students threw them dirty looks for blocking traffic. "It's not as though you've anywhere more important to be."

"What did you have to tell me?" Al asked, trying hard not to smile as he watched her throw the group of fourth years a two-fingered salute.

"What?" she asked distractedly, glaring at their retreating backs. "God, I hate Madison Greene. She thinks just because she's in Ravenclaw, she can walk around like she's so much more brilliant than everyone else. Gives my whole house a bad name."

"Rosie," he said, a bit more forcefully, trying to regain her attention. "You had to tell me something?"

She turned to look at him with a blank expression, squinting as she searched around in her mind. "Tell you, tell you…let's see…oh! Yes! I was supposed to tell you…now, don't get angry," she said, holding up a hand. "I'm only the messenger. But Fred told Roxanne who told Louis, who…no, wait. That's wrong. Hold on…Roxanne told _Hugo_, who told Louis who told Lily who told _me_ to tell _you_ that your dad's here, and he's looking for you," she said, taking a deep breath. "Blimey, that was a lot to remember."

"Wait, what?" Albus asked, frowning deeply. "My dad? What does he want?"

"Well, I don't know, do I?" Rose asked as she picked her bag back up, stuffing her magically dried cloak into it. "He was here today teaching a fourth year practical course which is how Fred found out, and as I said, he told —"

"Right, right, we don't need to go through it all again," Al said, holding up a hand to cut her off and rolling his eyes. "And he's still here? Looking for me?"

She nodded. "Lily was on her way down to the pitch when I was coming in from the greenhouses," she said, running a hand over her hair and smoothing it back in place. "She said she'd just spoken to Louis, who had seen him from down a corridor."

"This family is unbelievable," Albus muttered to himself, shaking his head. "Between the lot of us, we've practically got the castle bugged."

"Well, it is what it is," she said with a sigh, reaching a hand out to tug at his tie. "No use in whinging about it. But you ought to get moving. You know as well as I do that your dad doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"But I was just…" Al began, stopping and shaking his head. "Fine, I'll go and find him. Why do I have a feeling this is going to be horrible?"

"Merlin, listen to you," Rose laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're so dramatic about everything. Listen, let's meet up in the library later. You can complain about it all you want then."

"If I survive," he grumbled.

She spun him around forcefully and gave him a shove up the stairs. "Stop it. It'll be fine," she said, hitting him on the bum to get him moving. "Off you go. And I'll see you after dinner."

Albus waved a hand over his shoulder without looking back as he began trudging the familiar path to the Defence hallway. The door to his father's office was open slightly, the soft glow of a fire coming from inside, and Al stopped in the corridor, apprehension running through him. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair self-consciously, straightening his tie and smoothing down the lapels of his button up. He reached a tentative hand out and knocked on the door softly.

"Come in."

Al pushed it open slowly and stood in the doorway, clutching at the strap of his bag with a sweaty hand. "Hey, Dad, I heard you were looking for me," he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Al, great," his dad said, not looking up from the papers he was looking over. "Take a seat. I just want to finish this up."

"Sure," Albus said a bit awkwardly, moving to one of the chairs that faced the desk and sinking into it slowly. He looked around the small office, his eyes falling on the photograph of his family that sat in a frame on the desk. Al watched as his mother struggled to keep a two year old Lily from running out of the frame, but averted his eyes when he realised his four year old self was desperately trying to stand just like his father.

Just then, his life-sized dad pushed back his chair and rounded to Al's side, leaning against the edge of the desk with his arms crossed over his chest. He fixed Albus with a hard stare.

"Albus, there are some things I want to speak with you about," his dad said carefully, frowning a bit. Al tried to look as innocent as possible under the scrutiny. "I've been talking to some of your professors, and I've heard from a few of them that you're not planning on being an Auror after you leave school anymore."

Al shrugged his shoulders, licking his lips and avoiding his dad's eye. "I was going to tell you and mum, I just…didn't know when to bring it up," he said quietly.

"It's not just that you didn't tell us," his dad said, shaking his head. "You've wanted to be an Auror your whole life. What's changed? I mean, we're worried about you, your mum and I. You've lost focus, you've dropped off Quidditch, and you've not been yourself the last year. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing's 'going on'," Albus said, sighing. "I'm fine. Everything's…fine. You don't need to worry about me. Now can I just get to dinner? I've had a long day."

"Hang on," his dad said, pressing a firm hand on his shoulder as Al began to rise from his seat. "We're going to talk about this."

"Dad, there's nothing to talk about. I'm sorry," Albus said, slumping back in the armchair. "But those just aren't the things I want anymore."

Al watched apprehensively as his dad shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "See, that's the thing, Al," he said, pressing his fingers into his temple. "I hear you saying you don't want those things, but I never actually hear you say what it is that you _do_ want. You're drifting. I mean, let's be honest. You've only got two years left at school, and I don't think you have any idea where you're headed."

"Well I'll figure it out on my own time, won't I?" Albus asked, beginning to get a bit frustrated.

He wanted to tell his dad that Quidditch and an Auror career and a perfect life were never the things he'd wanted for himself anyway. He wanted to shout that those were the things that his dad had envisioned as the bright and shining future for his perfect son. He wanted to break down the walls and tell his dad that he _wasn't_ the perfect one, that he wasn't ever going to live up to that image that they had of him…but he didn't. Instead, he sat still and waited for his dad to go on.

"I just want you to be ready," his dad said finally, shaking his head. "And I don't think you are. You aren't making an effort to get outside your box. From what I hear, you're spending too much time hanging around Scorpius. I think it's great you two are such good friends, but don't you think it's time to maybe branch out a bit? Maybe meet a nice girl?"

"Dad," Albus said firmly, staring hard at the floor with wide eyes, shaking his head.

"I'm just saying," his dad said, holding up his hands defensively, "if you ever need to talk to me about…you know…those things…you can. I've been there. I know girls can seem like a mystery at your age, trust me. I went through the same things you're going through right now."

"Oh, I hope not," Al muttered under his breath, blinking a few times to clear his head. "Look, I've really got to be going. I'm meeting Rose, so…I'll see you at Christmas…"

Without a backward glance, he snatched his bag from the floor and fled the room before his father could say anything more. When the office door had clicked behind him, Albus leaned against it heavily, his heart beating very fast. He could feel that his cheeks had turned red, and he ran a shaky hand back through his hair, suddenly not feeling the least bit hungry. He shook his head and pushed off from the door, deciding to head to the library early. He could do with a bit of quiet.

* * *

An hour later, half asleep over his Ancient Runes book, Albus jumped when he felt a hand push at the back of his head. He took a deep breath, rubbing at his eyes, and blinked blearily up at Rose as she sank into a chair at his table.

"I brought you coffee," she said, pushing a large cup across the table toward him. "You look like you could use it."

"Oh, you're a saint," he mumbled, stretching in his seat so that his back cracked. "I've been sleeping like shit lately."

Rose hummed noncommittally as she flipped through her notes. Albus tried not to feel too suspicious. She always got like this when there was something on her mind, but maybe he was just on edge after his talk with his father.

"So how'd it go?" she asked after a moment, glancing up to meet his eye for the briefest of moments before returning to her notes. "I didn't see you come to dinner."

Al sighed, rubbing at his forehead. "Let's just say we won't be hugging it out any time soon," he said wearily. "He asked me if I had a girlfriend."

Rose looked up sharply, a frown flashing across her face. "What did you say?" she asked carefully.

"Nothing, did I?" he said, shaking his head. "Got out of there as soon as I could. I mean…I've _had_ girlfriends. And I could again. I just don't at the moment. But that doesn't mean I won't ever…you know…"

Rose made a face that was a bit incomprehensible to Albus, and she looked like she was teetering on the edge of saying something important. She sighed, running a hand back through her hair.

"Alright, let's just cut the crap, okay Albus? It's sort of the worst kept secret in school anyway. Who is he this week?" Rose asked bluntly, giving him a knowing stare. "And don't even try to deny it, because I _know_ that look. You're sleeping with someone."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Al said delicately, carefully avoiding her eye as he went back to his translation.

"Albus, you can't keep _doing_ this to yourself," she said, frowning in concern. She sighed and set down her quill. "Look, I know you're afraid of talking about it, but wouldn't things be easier if you just got it all out in the open? Your parents know there's something going on with you…but you just refuse to let them in."

"I can't talk to my dad," Albus said, pausing in his writing and gripping his quill very hard. He still refused to look up and meet her eye, his jaw clenching tightly as he stared down at the page, unseeing. "He's too…I dunno. Just…_perfect_ all the time, and I can't live up to that. I'll never be able to."

She placed a hand on his leg under the table, and he swallowed around the lump that seemed to have formed in his throat. "Oh, Al…they don't want you to be perfect. They just want you to be _you_," she said, squeezing his knee. "And by you keeping this huge secret from them, you're shutting them out. They don't get to know you, and that's not fair."

"Well, maybe they wouldn't like me too much if they _did_ know me," he said with finality, jerking his leg away from her touch. "It's better for everyone this way."

"It's not better for you," Rose said quietly, shaking her head and giving up as she pulled a book across the table.


	6. Staircase

**A/N:** The title of this chapter, "L'Esprit de L'Escalier" is a French phrase that doesn't translate directly into English at all. The literal translation is "Staircase Wit", but the French usage of it has nothing to do with stairs. :) It's basically a phrase used to describe that moment when you think of the _perfect_ comeback after an argument is already over, or realise something that you wish you could have thought of in the heat of the moment. It's that feeling of regret that you didn't get to say that thing that you should have said during an argument.

_06 — Staircase (L'Esprit de L'Escalier)_

It wasn't until a few days after Al's conversation with his father that Scorpius attempted to broach the subject. Albus knew that Scorpius and Rose had talked about what had happened in the library that evening; he could see it in the awkward, stilted looks that the two of them had been giving him whenever they were all together, and he was fairly certain that it was going to come up some time soon. What he hadn't expected, though, was that the moment Scorpius would choose to finally bring it up would be so wildly inappropriate.

They were collapsed on top of each other in Scorpius's four-poster bed one night, sweaty and breathless and completely pulled-out. Despite the feeling of bliss that was still coursing through him in tiny little aftershocks, Albus was beginning to grow a bit uncomfortable, flat on his stomach and pinned to the mattress with Scorpius draped over him. He could feel his friend's hot breath still coming out in gasps on the back of his neck, and his hair was sticking to his forehead in damp strands that kept falling into his eyes.

With a rather large amount of effort, because his arms still felt like jelly, he reached behind him blindly, groping for Scorpius. He pushed at his shoulder a bit, trying to get him to roll off. Scorpius made a protesting noise, but complied, flopping back onto the pillows in the small space.

Albus groaned as he rolled over, taking a deep breath now that he felt like he could breath again. They had to lie rather close here, heads fighting for space on the single pillow, but he couldn't help the small smile that began to turn up the corners of his mouth as he stared up at the heavy canopy above them.

"You are getting _so_ much better at this," he said quietly, his eyes falling closed. One of his hands fell to rest on Scorpius's thigh, and he laughed softly to himself. "I mean _really_. That was…Merlin."

"Practise makes perfect," Scorpius muttered, turning his head so that his face was buried in Al's neck.

There was a long, comfortable silence as they caught their breath, and Albus could feel his heart beating out a lazy rhythm in his chest as they lay there. After a while, he began absently threading his fingers through Scorpius's hair, and though this wasn't the kind of thing that they ordinarily did, lingering together after the fact, it felt nice. It was peaceful. Scorpius hummed a bit and curled in a little closer, and Al was just beginning to feel sleepy when Scorpius took a deep breath and pulled back so they could look at each other. Albus could just barely make out the features of his face in the darkness provided by the thick velvet curtains around the bed, but he could tell that Scorpius looked concerned about something.

"Al, I know this isn't an easy thing, but…I've been thinking about it a lot lately," Scorpius said slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. "Rose and I have been talking, and…er…she told me what happened the other day. After you talked with your dad. She's right, you know."

Albus felt an instant flash of anger replace the serene feeling he'd had a moment ago. "_Now_?!" he asked in an incredulous undertone. "You want to talk about this _now_? Of all the times you could have brought it up, it had to be here."

"Look, I'm sorry, but it's just…" Scorpius trailed off, searching around for the right words. "I've been trying to…This isn't…I mean, no time would have been a good time, would it? You never want to talk about all this."

Albus rolled his eyes, sitting up in the bed. "And you thought _this_ would be the time I'd want to? You're unbelievable," he said disdainfully, pulling his knees up to his chest and turning his head away from Scorpius.

He heard Scorpius sigh, and the bed shifted as he moved to sit up as well. One of Scorpius's hands smoothed up his back, and Al felt lips pressed into the notch of his shoulder.

"I just worry about you," Scorpius said softly, his hand rubbing gently up and down Al's back. "You throw yourself around like you don't think you're worth anything, and I…it's just not healthy, Al. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

Albus felt his eyes begin to sting, and he squeezed them shut, pulling away from Scorpius's touch. "Funny thing for you to say," he said coldly. "You don't seem to mind me 'throwing myself around' too much when it's you who gets the benefit. Next time you want a free pass, I suggest you look somewhere else, because this is over."

And ignoring Scorpius's stuttered protestations, he grabbed the wad of his clothes at the foot of the bed, ripped the hangings open and stalked back to his own bed. He lay awake fuming for hours after that, rolling over restlessly to punch his pillow, hating himself every time he caught a whiff of Scorpius's cologne that had caught in his hair, furious that his friend could be so tactless and hypocritical. He hardly got any sleep that night, and when morning came, he left the room without even sparing a glance at Scorpius.

* * *

It was nearly a week before they spoke to each other again.

Albus was stuffing his book back into his bag as he left the Defence classroom one Monday afternoon. He was _not_ in a very good mood. He and Scorpius had been passive-aggressively fighting since the incident, and he'd just spent the last hour absently taking notes as he glared at the back of his friend's head from where he'd been sitting two rows behind him. He'd been halfheartedly trying to decide which hex would cause the maximum amount of discomfort with the least noticeable effects, and had just started to work out a plan when the bell rang, jerking him out of his thoughts.

As he made his way into the corridor, filing out into the stream of people, he saw an all-too-familiar flash of light brown curls not too far away. He turned quickly, trying to redirect himself into the flow of people moving in the opposite direction, but it was no use. A hand clamped down on his shoulder, pulling him off to an emptier stretch of hall.

"Hello, Albus," said the boy's soft voice once they had a bit of space to themselves.

Al felt himself flush red. "Cassio. How…erm…how have you been?" he asked a bit awkwardly, his mind still half focused on Scorpius. "I heard from Louis that you and Lucy broke things off."

Cassio took a step closer to him, and Albus felt the thoughts of his fight with his friend begin to leave his mind. "Yes, I have been rather…lonely lately, if you know what I mean," Cassio said in that quiet voice, running his fingers over the silky material of Al's tie.

Albus took a deep breath, swallowing thickly. His eyes flicked over Cassio's smooth brown curls, the lean line of his shoulder, the hard, muscled arms that were prominent even through the billowing material of his school robe. He allowed his gaze to linger on the other boy's thin lips, which were curled up into an easy smile. He could feel his heart rate picking up a bit, but he made himself force it down. Lucy was his family; this was off limits. He wasn't allowed to cross this line anymore.

Albus took a step away from him suddenly, bumping into something solid behind him. A hand caught on his waist to keep him from stumbling over, and before Al could turn to apologise, the person behind him spoke.

"Cassio, how lovely to see you," said Scorpius's smooth voice. "Al and I were just talking about you a few weeks ago."

Albus felt his eyes fall closed in embarrassment as he remembered just where _that_ particular conversation had led. His cheeks began to burn a bit redder as images began to float back to him.

"All good, I hope?" Cassio asked in a friendly tone, taking a step backward. Albus noticed his eyes flicker to where Scorpius's hand was still planted firmly on his waist.

Al tried to wriggle out of Scorpius's hold. The last thing he wanted was to cause a scene and draw any more attention to this conversation that was happening in an uncomfortably public place. As he tried to step away, though, Scorpius's fingers dug into his the side of his hip sharply, keeping Al pinned helplessly. Albus turned to glare up at him, and he saw that Scorpius's face was twisted into a very forced-looking grin as he stared fixedly at Cassio. Al rolled his eyes, biting down on his tongue in frustration as he shook his head.

"Yes, it was quite good," Scorpius said with a glint in his eye, "if I do say so myself."

Albus stamped down on his foot, finally tugging himself free of Scorpius. "You know, Cassio, it's been great talking, but we've really got to get going," Al said firmly, jerking at the back of Scorpius's robes in a silent plea to get him moving. "I've just remembered something I need to speak with Scorpius about."

"Alright, then," Cassio said, watching them suspiciously. "I hope to see you soon, Al."

Albus threw him a halfhearted smile over his shoulder as he began dragging Scorpius away down the hall. They rounded a corner, and when Al was sure they weren't being watched, he wrenched open the door to an empty classroom and gave Scorpius a rough shove inside.

"What the _hell_ was that?" he asked once the door had slammed behind them.

Scorpius just gave a quiet grunt, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Al with a raised eyebrow, clearly trying to look unimpressed.

"_You_ are not my boyfriend," Albus said after a moment of silence. "You don't get to act like a jealous prick whenever another bloke looks at me sideways. If I want to mess about with Cassio, that's my business. Not yours."

"So you're speaking to me again, then?" Scorpius asked him, leaning back against the wall.

"Only so I can tell you to sod off," Albus said, glaring at him. Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Problem?" Al asked.

Scorpius considered him for a moment, then sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, you know what? Why not. I should have said this the other night, but I couldn't get it out," he said. He pushed off the wall and backed Albus up against a desk. "Guys like Cassio are the reason I worry about you. They're just trying to find a place to stick their dicks, and you make it too easy for them."

"Yeah, and you're any different?" Albus scoffed, rolling his eyes. He made an attempt to push past, but Scorpius grabbed him by the waist again, holding him in place.

"I am," Scorpius said, nodding. "Because I actually care about you, Al. I just want you to be happy."

Albus frowned as he felt Scorpius's fingers squeeze his hip a bit. He searched his friend's face for a moment, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "Blimey, it's only been a month," he said quietly after a beat, sighing in disappointment. "Scor, we said we wouldn't let feelings into this. I thought you'd last longer than a month."

"What? No, don't be so thick," Scorpius said, shaking his head and laughing as though the idea were ridiculous. "I meant that I care about you because we're _friends_. You've been my best mate for ages. It matters to me what happens to you. Even when you're being a prick and not speaking to me, you're like my brother."

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Thank Merlin you're an only child, mate," he said, forgetting that he was still supposed to be angry. He sat back on the desk, letting his legs dangle in front of him. "There's a word for what we are, and it's not brothers."

"So we're still something, then?" Scorpius asked, moving to stand between Al's legs and resting a hand low on his hip. "I mean, if not that's fine, but I…you know…I wouldn't mind if we were..."

"Just shut up," Albus said quietly, letting one of his ankles catch behind Scorpius's knee. "You know, you won't always be able to win me over like this."

He watched as a mischievous smile turned up the corner of his friend's mouth. "I should enjoy it while I can, then, don't you think?" Scorpius asked, placing his other hand on Al's waist and pulling him a bit closer across the desk.

"You shouldn't want this at all," Albus said a bit breathlessly as Scorpius's lips wrapped around his ear. "You should be going after…oh God…someone with, you know, curves."

"Don't talk about all that just now," Scorpius mumbled as he began tugging at the knot of Al's tie. "Not when I'm about to bend you over this desk and do filthy things to you."

Albus groaned low in his throat when he felt Scorpius's fingers wriggling under the waistband of his trousers, and he grabbed a fistful of his dress shirt, hauling him in to connect their mouths. Their teeth clacked together roughly as they met in a tight kiss, and Albus was about to hop off the desk to move things along, when suddenly, there was a clattering at the door.

There was a split second in which they pulled back to stare at each other in shock before they sprang apart as though they'd been burnt. Albus frantically zipped his trousers back up as Scorpius began fumbling with the buttons of his own shirt. Just as Al was running a hand back through his hair, the door opened.

It was a first year Gryffindor that Albus knew by sight but had never spoken to. The young girl seemed like she was lost, and she opened her mouth to apologise for coming into the wrong room, but then she realised who it was that she had walked in on. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Albus tugging his tie back around his neck, and she closed her mouth with a snap.

"Move along, then," Scorpius said, his tone annoyed. He waved a hand at her dismissively. "Budge off."

"Sorry," she said meekly, her hand on the doorknob. The girl looked between them cautiously for a moment, then she backed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Once they were alone again, Albus released a breath that he hadn't realised he'd been holding. "Do you think she'll tell anyone?" he asked cautiously.

Scorpius shook his head, looking unconcerned as he finished redoing his buttons. "Nah, poor thing's too young to know what she saw," he said, picking his bag back up.

He looked at Albus expectantly. Al, who was still sitting back on the desk, hoping to pick up where they'd left off, raised his eyebrows. "What? Get over here. Let's get on with it," he said, beckoning for him to come back.

"We've only got ten minutes left to eat lunch before afternoon classes," Scorpius said, shaking his head. "I'm hungry. We can do this later."

Albus stared at him, trying to decide if he was serious or not, but Scorpius just started toward the door. Al rolled his eyes and finished knotting his tie before following.

"Such a boy," Albus mumbled to himself as he hurried to catch up, only half-exasperated.


End file.
